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This is all part of Ranpo’s plan… this is all part of Ranpo’s plan…
That’s what Atsushi kept telling himself as the Hunting Dog girl sat on top of him, telling her partner over the walkie talking how she was going to torture him for information on the vampires.
But I don’t know anything about them… he tried to say, but he was still too dazed from Teruko’s age manipulation ability to actually get the words out.
It’s okay though, he desperately tried to convince himself, Ranpo would be able to foresee something like this, it’s definitely part of his plan, right?
But it was still difficult for him to have faith that everything would turn out fine when this girl kept looking down at him with a devilish smirk.
“Where is Tachihara?” she asked, pulling her sword out.
Atsushi shook his head, trying to convey that he didn’t know, that he wasn’t her enemy, but she didn’t get the message.
As long as she’s busy with me, she can’t be going after Stoker, Atsushi told himself. That means she can’t find him and bring him to Fukuchi. As long as I keep her here, we still have hope.
Atsushi watched as Teruko began lowering the tip of the sword, slowly approaching his thigh.
It’s okay, I’ve gone through pain before. I’ve been in pain most of my life. That’s what life is: pain and suffering.
Akutagawa suddenly flashed in his mind, the way he looked as a sword swung through his neck, telling Atsushi to run. Even a monster like Akutagawa was able to put the good of the world ahead of his own life, now I just need to the same. Then, I’ll finally be allowed to live…
Atsushi had a sudden image of Akutagawa standing behind Teruko, an unreadable expression on his face as he looked down at his enemy, but it was just an illusion. Teruko was real though, and she grinned as her blade pierced Atsushi’s thigh.
I’ve gone through this before, he kept telling himself. I can survive this.
Atsushi still screamed.
Find Stoker.
That was the order that kept repeating in his mind. The only thought he had. His entire existence at the moment revolved around that one thought.
The being that was once Ryuunosuke Akutagawa marched through the airport. It didn’t pay attention to any of the terrified citizens or the other vampires throughout the building, it only had one goal, one purpose.
Find Stoker.
It made its way outside, searching to see if there was any sign of the person that turned him into a vampire out there.
It did not know why it needed to find Stoker, nor did it feel the need to know why. It felt absolutely nothing, no emotions, no memories. It was just a soulless body used purely for carrying out the will of its master. An undead weapon.
“Hey, you can’t be out here. The airport is on lockdown,” some security guard yelled at it, but it merely swatted it to the side with its ability. It had no time for distractions.
A scream rang out somewhere nearby. It turned in the screams direction, thinking that perhaps it could lead him to Stoker. It made its way over quickly.
Find Stoker.
As it got closer to the source of the noise, which was on top of a balcony overlooking the planes, it discovered that it was not actually Stoker, but instead some little girl sitting on top of someone else, sticking a sword into his leg while using some sort of ability on him. Whatever it was, it must have hurt, because the man on the ground let out a bloodcurdling scream.
It turned to leave and go find its actually target before another scream rang out. It turned over to look at the scream’s source.
That is not Stoker.
It ignored that voice in its head, looking at the man being tortured on the ground. he had messy, uneven white hair with a black streak in it, wore a white shirt with black pants, a belt that was way too long for his thin waist.
It didn’t know why, but a sudden foreign feeling rushed through him at the sight. This was strange. It wasn’t supposed to get feelings but now… it felt… recognition.
But how? He had no memories.
Nevertheless, he kept watching, a sudden pain through his chest at the sound of another scream coming from him. It sounded like a child crying for its mother.
But that mother would never come, a sudden thought ran through his mind.
How do I know that? He asked himself.
Find Stoker rang through his head once again, but he ignored it, still focused on Atsushi screaming for his life beneath the foot of one of the hunting dogs.
Atsushi… how do I know that name?
Another pained feeling flew through his entire body as he cried out again. I don’t like this…
A sudden warm feeling came through his veins, like all the sudden blood began flowing again.
“Weretiger…” a harsh voice let out, and it took Akutagawa a moment to realize that it was his own.
He stepped forward.
Atsushi let out another scream. He was in pain. A lot of pain. It was the worst he’d felt in a long time, maybe since before he’d even joined the Agency. Teruko stabbing him in different spots while also manipulating his age somehow had the effect of making everything seem that more painful. Luckily his tiger ability was able to heal the wounds, but it couldn’t take care of the pain he felt.
He felt like a child back at the orphanage, when the headmaster had forced him to drive a nail through his foot, or any of the other times he’d been abused by the staff there. He’d screamed them too.
But no one ever came to rescue me, he reminded himself. And no one will come to save me now.
Suddenly, a light cough was heard from somewhere a few feet away from him, and Teruko pulled her blade back.
“I knew you were working with the vampires,” she grinned. “And now one’s come here to rescue you.”
“Wha…” was all Atsushi could let out, trying to move his head to see what she was talking about, but couldn’t bend his head back far enough.
“Please,” a familiar, disinterested voice let out, “I am not one to stay obedient to such an ability.”
It can’t be…
“I can’t let you continue to harm the weretiger,” the voice said again. “He still has his end of the deal to hold up. And I am the only one who can kill him.”
Teruko jumped off Atsushi towards the intruder, but black strands of fabric darted out in every direction, causing her dodge back. The attacks kept flying, never letting up, never giving Teruko a chance to breath.
She backflipped away after one tendril swung horizontally, moving her further away from both the attacker and Atsushi. She pulled out her steel whip to attack, swinging it with a wicked grin, only for it to get sliced clean in half.
She let out an annoyed groan before dodging more relentless attacks, moving her further and further away, before eventually pushing her to the edge of the balcony.
Another attack came out, cleaving through much of the floor as it came towards her. Her only escape was to jump over the railing and down onto the tarmac, putting her far enough away from Atsushi that he could breathe a relaxed sigh.
But who…? he thought to himself before he felt himself being picked up by long strands of leather before he eventually found himself in the arms of his savior.
“Rest now, Weretiger,” the harsh voice whispered to him.
Atsushi looked up at him, his vision fuzzy but still making out the black hair with white tips. “Akutagawa…” he let out before he fell unconscious.
Atsushi opened his eyes slowly. There was a harsh light above him, and whatever he was laying down on was not comfortable at all, probably some kind of desk or something. He must’ve been in some abandoned office within the airport.
His vision seemed fuzzy still, only really able to see the light and a haze of whiteness around it. He lifted his arm to rub his eyes, only to find that he felt extremely sore.
He quickly recalled what happened before he’d passed out, and shot up, ignoring the incredible pain his body was still in. He was about to get to his feet when a voice commanded “Relax, weretiger.”
Atsushi slowly looked over at the source of the command. His vision was still fuzzy, so he rubbed at his eyes again, before opening them back up to see Ryuunosuke Akutagawa, alive and very much not a vampire, leaning against a pillar, watching over him.
“Akutagawa…” he whispered out, in complete disbelief. “But you…”
“Died?” he completed his sentence for him. “That’s what I thought as well, until I suddenly found myself watching you get tortured by a member of the Hunting Dogs in the middle of an airport.” Suddenly, Rashomon shot out, forming a blade and sitting just inches away from his neck. “Explain, weretiger.”
Atsushi cleared his throat. “Well, after you… on the boat… you know…” Akutagawa begrudgingly nodded. “Well, Fukuchi had another ability user with him. Bram Stoker. He had Stoker turn you into a vampire that would do anything he commanded and used you to start the Vampire infection.”
Akutagawa scoffed, retracting Rashomon from Atsushi. “So the enemy was able to use me as a weapon for his cause…” Akutagawa looked off the side, an unreadable expression on his face before turning back to face Atsushi. “Now what?”
Atsushi quickly filled him in on the rest of the plan, everything that was happening, and what the stakes were.
“I see…” Akutagawa said as he thought about everything. Atsushi watched him closely, still in complete disbelief that he was sitting there in front of him. “So these vampires are throughout the entire airport?” Atsushi nodded. “And the only way to stop them is to retrieve Stoker?”
“Well, that’s what we thought, but now… with you… back.” Akutagawa didn’t say anything, so Atsushi asked, “How are you back to normal?”
Akutagawa looked pensively down at the ground. “I don’t know.”
Atsushi felt frustrated at that. “What do you mean you don’t know?”
“I felt a strange feeling when I returned, somehow simultaneously warm and painful, and it was as I watched that Hunting Dog hurting you.”
Atsushi looked at his own lap, trying to decipher what the feeling the mafioso described meant, but his thoughts were interrupted by him questioning “Can you stand? We should get you back to your colleagues so we can discuss a plan of attack.”
Atsushi looked up at him, finding Akutagawa now standing right next to where he was sitting up on the desk. Atsushi slowly nodded before pushing himself off the desk and onto his feet, only to wince at the pressure put on his leg and fall over.
He didn’t hit the ground though, instead falling right into Akutagawa’s arms. Atsushi met his eyes, trying to decipher what look he was giving, but couldn’t before he was lifted back to his feet, Akutagawa placing an arm around him to hold him up.
“Thank you,” Atsushi whispered out. Akutagawa didn’t reply, instead staring blankly ahead of them.
Atsushi kept looking over at him, and he gently raised his fingers to graze them over where Fukuchi’s sword had cut through his neck the last time they’d seen each other, finding the skin perfectly mended together.
“What are you doing?” Akutagawa snarled.
Atsushi quickly withdrew his hand. “Nothing.”
Akutagawa gave him a look before walking forward, pulling Atsushi along with him.
“Hey, Akutagawa?” Atsushi said before they stepped out of the office.
“What?”
“I’m glad you’re alive,” Atsushi told him, completely earnest.
Atsushi saw a softness in his eyes that he’d never seen before, but it quickly disappeared as Akutagawa turned back in front of him.
“We should get going,” he said as he helped Atsushi out of the room, and Atsushi felt like Akutagawa’s grip on him got just a bit tighter.